Top Picks for Free Antivirus Programs

Just like our own body system, catching a virus and getting sick is an awful thing.

And sometimes, no matter how careful we are or how much we avoid going to public places to avoid getting sick, viruses have a habit of finding and infecting us. One way to maintain a healthy body is by protecting ourselves. The same thing can be said for our computers. Viruses and malwares are everywhere, especially on the web, and most of the time we’re not completely aware that they’re slowly affecting our computer. It may start slowing down your application process while altering your files and the appearance of your desktop all the while. Luckily, just like how we can take vitamins to protect our body from sickness and diseases, we can also protect our computer with their own vitamins – antivirus. Some people may want to skip this process as paid antivirus programs can be very expensive. The good news is that you don’t need to spend a lot to get the best protection for your computer. In fact, you don’t even need to spend anything at all. There are a lot of free antivirus programs that you can trust that can also counter malicious software as effectively as the paid antivirus programs.

Collection of the Top Free Antivirus Programs

Avast! Free Antivirus – Avast has been detecting malwares for years and has been consistently improving their game ever since. Now, it is ranked alongside the best. It’s easy to install and use, and runs a quick initial scan that detects potential threats to your computer. It requires free registration after 30 days to run.

Panda Cloud Antivirus – this is Panda’s free version, separated from their commercial products, so a few key features are missing. However, it is the perfect choice for an average user and provides real-time antivirus protection. While the paid version includes more features such as “USB Vaccine” that decreases the risks of malwares infecting USB drives, the free version also allows a high level of detection.

ZoneAlarm Free Antivirus + Firewall – another free version of a commercial product, ZoneAlarm is capable of protection. It offers browsing protection, AV-Test Certified antivirus engine, and firewall. The only concern though, is that the database is only updated once a day. The commercial version provides hourly updates.

Avira Free Antivirus – this is an excellent quality antivirus program and it is the top pick of many. It has a high rate of malware detection and remains the best choice for high-risk users. Avira does not include email scanner so it does not warn you if there’s an infected email in your inbox. However, it’s not entirely useless on that part because once you opened an infected email, Avira will do what it does best – protect your computer from the infected file.

Bitdefender Antivirus Free Edition – one of the best protections you can have, Bitdefender provides a simple interface and offers protection at its best. Very easy to install, it offers automatic scanning and real-time malware protection.

Final Say

Paid antivirus programs may have a few advantages over free ones, but it does not mean that these free versions are not great alternatives for them, especially if you’re tight on a budget and are looking for the best free protection there is.